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BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - Key auto industry decision makers from across the Southeastern U.S. and beyond will be in Alabama this week to learn about new innovations, share solid business practices and build stronger relationships with their colleagues.

The Southern Automotive Conference, which kicks off Wednesday at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex, features a lineup of industry experts including executives from Mercedes-Benz, Honda, Hyundai, Toyota, Nissan, General Motors, Kia, and many suppliers and support firms.

Governor Kay Ivey also is scheduled to speak, along with educators, researchers and consultants.

A little over 20 years ago, just before the Titantic ran in theatres and the world was introduced to Harry Potter, the Mercedes-Benz W163, dubbed "Job1," rolled off the assembly line at Vance, Ala., launching the M class.

It was a risky experiment for Daimler-Benz: its first manufacturing plant outside Germany, building an entirely new product and its first wholly manufactured SUV.

Mercedes production boss Markus Schaefer said the idea, hatched by former Mercedes boss Juergen Hubbert, was considered "crazy."

As the mayor of Tuskegee says, it would be a pretty great Christmas present.

The Macon County city between Montgomery and Auburn is in the running to win a $250 million jet factory that would create 750 jobs on the airfield where the Tuskegee Airmen once flew. For that to happen, a company called Leonardo DRS has to beat out Boeing, Lockheed and Sierra Nevada to win an Air Force contract to manufacture T-100 training jets.

The decision is expected at the end of this year or early 2018. Mayor Lawrence F. "Tony" Haygood Jr. says the city has been recruiting hard for months in every direction. "As a community we've been contacting all the citizens we can, and they're contacting people they know in the military and government, to uplift the message of Tuskegee and Moton Field for this contract," Haygood says.

In a sweeping Coca-Cola consolidation, a Birmingham-based bottler has taken over a production facility in Mobile as well as several sales and distribution territories along the Gulf Coast.

Coca-Cola Bottling Company United, based in Birmingham, announced Monday that it had closed transactions with Coca-Cola Bottling Company Consolidated and the Coca-Cola Company. With the deal sealed, Coca-Cola United takes over 10 sales and distribution territories: Mobile, Leroy, Robertsdale and Florence in Alabama; Laurel and Ocean Springs in Mississippi; Bainbridge, Columbus and Sylvester in Georgia; and Panama City, Fla.

Monday's announcement portrays the move as the culmination of a four-year acquisition campaign by Coca Cola-United, as "part of The Coca-Cola Company's more broadly-based refranchising efforts throughout the United States." Overall, Coca-Cola United acquired more than 40 facilities and market territories and incorporated "more than 7,000 new associates and about 100,000 customers." The latest move involves more than 920 associates, according to the company.

Birmingham's bid for Amazon's second North American headquarters got a boost from a new ranking that places Alabama's largest metro area at the top of a key category that's certain to be vital in the Internet retailing giant's plans.

An analysis by
Textio, a Seattle startup that crunches information about job postings, found that companies in Birmingham hire the engineering talent they need faster than firms in other U.S. cities.

In Birmingham, engineering positions are filled in just 15½ days, Textio found.